Recruitment and retention problems set to continue

More
than two-thirds of employers have experienced recruitment difficulties over the
past 12 months, according to a survey by IRS.

Its
poll of HR directors and managers across 432 organisations for its HR Prospects
2003 survey, shows 69.3 per cent of employers suffered recruitment problems
over the past year. This is little different to the proportion that experienced
difficulties the year before (75 per cent), as the anticipated easing of skills
shortages has failed to materialise.

The
public sector suffered the biggest blow to confidence. Just 7 per cent of
organisations in this sector are confident that recruitment problems will decrease
in the next 12 months.

The
survey also shows that 78.6 per cent of employers in the public sector were
affected by labour shortages in the past year. However, affected employers tend
to limit attempts to manage these problems to just two or three of the wide
range of possible measures available to them.www.irsemploymentreview.com